The news that Apple is going to switch to Intel processors shook up the computing world. Many users and developers were eager to publish their opinions on the switch. However, one group of people were totally neglected during all this: resellers. Today, we feature an interview with Wim Schermer, first Dutchman to own a Mac (in 1984), and co-founder of one of the biggest Apple retail stores in The Netherlands, MacSupport. We discuss the switch to Intel, and much more.

Over all it was a good interview article to read. Though I did find it some what confusing regarding a few comments made by Mr. Schermer as pointed out below.

Re: "Linux is a very good system, but let's be honest, it's a UNIX variant. And if you know that the base of OS X is FreeBSD, then there really aren't many arguments left to also have Linux on your Mac."

The simple answer here is choice. In that the consumer should have the freedom to run on their hardware what ever software they want and not have it decided by someone else. Also most switchers to Linux that don't choose OSX do so not because it's a UNIX variant as Mr. Schermer commented but because they are in most cases coming from a Windows background where the desktop GUI is similar to what distributions such as SuSE Linux, Mandriva Linux, Linspire, etc provide. While OSX is a good OS and it can be a useful resource to consumers it's apparent the GUI is not familiar to consumers (home, business, etc) that typically have used Windows for several years.

Re: "Of course, Linux is a good and especially compact system, there's nothing wrong with it. But, there aren't many good applications for the Linux desktop. You can't really do anything with it as an individual or small company. For servers, yes, it's very good for that. But that's just a relatively small part of the market. And it's also on solid ground in the scientific area. But the largest piece of the pie is the desktop segment; companies, individuals. Linux is on the rise, but mostly on servers."

What applications is he referring to..Office applications, graphics, etc? Post-Production studios for example have used Linux for years and have several options between commerical and open source applications to choose from. They don't just use Linux for servers or render farms but on their workstations as well. I could point out several distributions that not only offer just as much as OSX but in some cases would be easier for Windows users to transition to. This isn't just for businesses but also home consumers too. Typically the arguement from non-Linux users is that a Linux user can't buy products such as Photoshop for Linux. Well why should we when there's viable alternatives for free (ie: Gimp and Cinepaint)? With a selection of several thousand open source software applications to choose from it's hard to find reason to buy commercial software if there's a viable alternative available for free. The only thing Linux doesn't have going for it right now is mass marketing by distribution developers. It's only until this past year that I've noticed SuSE Linux and Linspire being offered through distributor channels and retail outlets. I'm sure due to the issues being raised with Windows users upgrading to Windows Vista and Apple's decision to switch to another architecture will provide increased interest in Linux. This would not only be due to what applications are available but also Linux increased support for new and legacy hardware.